Brazil’s key men

Neymar has earnt himself the right to be labelled as one of the top 3 players in the world alongside Messi and Ronaldo.

Millions of football fans will tune in to Brazil’s matches solely to watch the 25 year old play. After picking up a serious injury with PSG, the eyes of the world will be on Neymar’s recovery in the build-up to the World Cup.

Phillipe Coutinho finally signed for Barcelona during the January transfer window and he will play a vital role in Brazil’s attack this summer.

Coutinho has only scored 8 goals for his country but has a great partnership with fellow Barcelona midfielder, Paulinho, when playing for the Brazil national team.

Gabriel Jesus will be Brazil’s main attacking option in Russia. Roberto Firmino, despite a brilliant campaign with Liverpool, is expected to be the back-up striker.

Jesus was painting the streets of Sao Paulo during the 2014 World Cup. But will be leading the forward line for his country this year in Russia.

Switzerland

Switzerland head to Russia after defeating Northern Ireland in the play-offs.

14 different players scored for Switzerland on their road to Russia but only one player, Haris Seferović, managed to scored four.

Switzerland looked strong at Euro 2016 and were unlucky to lose to Poland in the last 16 on penalties.

The Swiss have never made it past the quarter finals of a World Cup and haven’t even reached that stage since 1954 when they hosted the tournament.

Switzerland’s key men

Switzerland have some incredible players in their squad including Juventus’ Stephan Lichtsteiner and Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Yann Sommer. But these three players will be the key to success at the World Cup this summer.

Shaqiri is clearly too good for Stoke and will surely find a new club at the end of the current season.

A Champions league winner with Bayern Munich, Shaqiri is pacey, skilful and can pick out a pass from anywhere on the pitch.

Alongside Shaqiri will be Granit Xhaka.

Xhaka is often criticised in the Premier League for his poor disciplinary record and sloppy performances but for Switzerland, Xhaka is a different player.

Vladimir Petković plays Xhaka in the number 10 role, a position where the 25 year old thrives.

Lastly, there is Haris Seferović. The 25 year old forward rarely plays for his club side, Benfica, but like Xhaka, seems to always perform (and more importantly score) when he plays for his country.

Costa Rica

Costa Rica will be hoping to put on a show in Russia, just like they did in Brazil four years ago.

Not many people will be expecting Costa Rica to qualify from Group E which was the exact same scenario in Brazil.

This is Costa Rica’s 5th time at the World Cup finals. And the third time that they have been drawn against Brazil in the group stage.

Costa Rica qualified in second place in their group, behind a Mexico side who lost just one match.

Christian Bolaños could become Costa Rica’s record World Cup appearance holder should he feature in his side’s group matches.